Angled trampoline panel system

ABSTRACT

An angled trampoline panel system includes a trampoline bed including a middle bed and a right angled bed, wherein the right angled bed is mounted at an angle to the middle bed. A right lower frame horizontal member has a right frame footing extending from and supporting the right angled bed. A right pulldown frame footing supports the right angle bed and the middle bed. A left pulldown frame footing supports the middle bed. A pulldown panel net is formed between the trampoline bed and the right pulldown frame footing. The pulldown panel net demarcates the middle bed from the right angle bed. The pulldown panel net further has an elastic cord attached to the right lower frame horizontal member.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the field of trampoline panel systems.

DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART

A variety of different angled trampolines have been created in the past.For example, as seen in United States patent publication 2013/0310223inventor Canales, entitled Half-Pipe Trampoline published Nov. 21, 2013,the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, atrampoline has angled surfaces. Also as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 9,446,274,same inventor Samuel Chen invented a Trampoline Court With PulldownSprings, issued Sep. 20, 2016, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

A variety of different elastic cords have been developed for providingelastic coupling. For example, an elastic cord construction is describedin U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,794 entitled A Reinforced Bungee Cord Tiedown byinventor Mc Coy, issued Jan. 18, 2000, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An angled trampoline panel system includes a trampoline bed including amiddle bed and a right angled bed, wherein the right angled bed ismounted at an angle to the middle bed. A right lower frame horizontalmember has a right frame footing extending from and supporting the rightangled bed. A right pulldown frame footing supports the right angle bedand the middle bed. A left pulldown frame footing supports the middlebed. A pulldown panel net is formed between the trampoline bed and theright pulldown frame footing. The pulldown panel net demarcates themiddle bed from the right angle bed. The pulldown panel net further hasan elastic cord attached to the right lower frame horizontal member.

The pulldown panel net also has a tab loop attached to the trampolinebed between the middle bed and the right angled bed and a tension rod.The tab loop receives the tension rod, so that the tension rod and tabloop form an upper loop.

The tension rod can be formed in sections that overlie and overlap eachother. The tension rod includes a first tension rod section that isoverlaid with a second tension rod section. The first tension rodsection can be laid adjacent to and parallel to a second tension rodsection so that the first tension rod and the second tension rod havesame height.

The elastic cord has a cord end that engages into a cord molding,wherein the cord molding has an opening revealing a socket for receivingthe cord end. The cord end socket is a plastic barrel shaped member. Theelastic cord has a cord end that engages into a cord molding. The cordmolding has a hook configured to fit through the loop opening.

The pulldown panel net should have a series of tab loops attached to thetrampoline bed between the middle bed and the right angled bed. Theseries of tab loops are linearly arranged. The series of tab loopsreceives the tension rod. The tension rod and series of tab loops form aseries of upper loops. The right lower frame horizontal member also hasa series of lower loops. The series of lower loops has a series of lowerloop openings. The series of lower loops is offset to the series ofupper loops. The elastic cord is mounted in a zigzag alternating patternbetween the series of lower loops and the series of upper loops.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a lower view showing the panel system underneath the angletrampoline.

FIG. 3 is a close-up view of the panel system.

FIG. 4 is a close-up view of the connectors used in the panel system.

The following call out list of elements can be a useful guide inreferencing the element numbers of the drawings.

-   10 Right Angled Bed-   11 Right Frame Footing-   12 Enclosure-   13 Fringe Cover-   14 Zipper Entrance-   20 Middle Bed-   30 Left Angel Bed-   31 Left Frame Footing-   40 Pull Down Panel Net-   41 Left Pull Down Frame Footing-   42 Right Pull Down Frame Footing-   43 Lower Frame Horizontal Member-   44 Lower Frame Vertical Member-   45 Lower Loop-   46 Tension Rod-   47 Upper Loop-   48 Tab Loop-   50 Elastic Cord-   51 Cord Free End-   52 Cord Run-   53 Second Cord Run-   54 Subsequent Cord Run-   55 First Tension Rod Section-   56 Second Tension Rod Section-   61 Cord End-   62 Hook-   63 Cord Molding-   64 Loop Opening

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As seen in FIG. 1, the present invention has a right angle the bed 10with a right frame footing 11 and a left frame footing 31. The rightframe footing 11 supports the right angled bed 10 and the left framefooting 31 supports the left angled bed. The middle bed 20 is situatedbetween the right angle bed 10 and the left angled bed 30. Preferably, azipper entrance 14 allows entrance through an enclosure 12. Theenclosure 12 is typically a netted fence structure for retaining users.A fringe cover 13 is a spring cover that covers the edge of the fringe.Additionally, a left pull down frame footing 41 and a right pull downframe footing 42 assist in supporting the middle bed 20.

As seen in FIG. 2, the panel system has a long run of elastic cord 50.The panel system is a pulldown panel net 40. The continuous elastic cord50 distributes the loading in a transverse direction as well as in adownward direction. The elastic cord 50 has a cord free end 51. The cordfree and 51 begins with a first cord run 52. The first cord run 52continues to a second cord run 53. Then, the second cord run 53continues to a subsequent cord run 54. The continuous elastic cord 50 iswrapped over a tension rod 46. The tension rod 46 can be made insegments, or can also be made continuous. The tension rod 46 fitsthrough tablets 48 which are sewn into the trampoline bed such as theright angle bed 10. The tension rod 46 is preferably a flexible steelrod.

The loop tab 48 is preferably a fabric loop having a loop opening forreceiving the tension rod 46. The tension rod 46 slides through eachsuccessive loop tab beginning from an end of the pulldown panel net 40.The loop tab 48 defines an upper boundary of the pulldown panel net 40.An upper loop 47 is formed between the tension rod 46 and the trampolinebed such as a right angle bed 10. The upper loop 47 receives successivewindings of the elastic cord 50. As a user passes the elastic cordthrough the upper loop 47, the user then passes the elastic cord 50through a lower loop 45. The user alternates between engaging the upperloop 47 and the lower loop 45 to form a zigzag alternating profile. Thelower loop 45 can be a metal link welded to the lower frame horizontalmember 43.

The lower frame vertical member 44 extends from the lower framehorizontal member 43. The lower frame horizontal member 43 can form theright pull down frame footing 42. A similar structure can be implementedwith the left pulldown frame footing 41 having a lower frame horizontalmember 43. The lower frame vertical member 44 extends upwardly at anangle to form a plane with the lower frame horizontal member 43. Thepulldown panel net 40 preferably is aligned to the plane formed betweenthe lower frame vertical member 44 and the lower frame horizontal member43.

As seen in FIG. 3, the frame footing is shown as a tubular steel member.The left pulldown frame footing 41 is shown in the background with theright pulldown frame footing 42 in the foreground. The tension rod 46passes through the tab loops 48 to form upper loops 47. The elastic cord50 passes through each of the loops. The elastic cord 50 can be made insegments with hooks 62 connecting to the loop openings 64 of the lowerloops 45. The lower loops 45 are formed on the lower frame horizontalmember 43 and have loop openings 64 large enough to accommodate the tipsof the hooks to. The elastic cord 50 has a cord end 61 that engages acord molding 63. The cord molding the can extend to a hook 62. Theelastic cord 50 can be formed in sections such as a section long enoughto span the panel twice. The cord molding can be a plastic injectionmolded member that retains the elastic cord end within the plasticinjection.

The tension rod can be formed in a pair of sections that overlie eachother. For example, a first tension rod section 55 can be overlaid witha second tension rod section 56 to provide a less stiff response. Whenthe first tension rod section 55 is laid parallel to the second tensionrod section 56, preferably, the first tension rod section 55 is adjacentto the second tension rod section 56 so that they are at the sameheight. The tab loops 48 can be rectangular shaped to have a fabricsleeve structure for retaining portions of the tension rod 46 which canbe made in multiple sections. The sections of the tension rod 46 arepreferably several meters in length.

As seen in FIG. 4, the elastic cord 50 has a cord end 61 that engagesinto the cord molding 63. The cord molding 63 has an opening revealing asocket for receiving the cord end 61. The cord end socket can be aplastic barrel shaped member. The hook 62 can extend from the cordmolding 63. The tip of the hook 62 can be rounded to fit around arounded opening of the loop opening 64.

The elastic cord 50 is also called bungee cord or shock cord and mayhave a rubber core with a sheathing. The elastic cord 50 can stretch to100% of original length. The single elastic cord 50 can be long enoughto comprise the entire elastic panel. Alternatively, the elastic cord 50can be implemented in multiple sections such as four sections, each withthree to five spans from the trampoline bed to the right or leftpulldown frame footings. The angle of the elastic cord is preferablybetween 5 to 25 degrees.

1. An angled trampoline panel system comprising: a trampoline bedincluding a middle bed and a right angled bed, wherein the right angledbed is mounted at an angle to the middle bed; a right lower framehorizontal member comprising a right frame footing extending from andsupporting the right angled bed; a right pulldown frame footingsupporting the right angle bed and the middle bed; a left pulldown framefooting supporting the middle bed; and a pulldown panel net formedbetween the trampoline bed and the right pulldown frame footing, whereinthe pulldown panel net demarcates the middle bed from the right anglebed, wherein the pulldown panel net further comprises: an elastic cordattached to the right lower frame horizontal member; a tab loop attachedto the trampoline bed between the middle bed and the right angled bed;and a tension rod, wherein the tab loop receives the tension rod,wherein the tension rod and tab loop form an upper loop. The angledtrampoline panel system of claim 1, wherein the tension rod is formedsections that overlie each other, wherein the tension rod includes afirst tension rod section that is overlaid with a second tension rodsection. The angled trampoline panel system of claim 1, wherein thetension rod is formed sections that overlie each other, wherein thetension rod includes a first tension rod section that is laid adjacentto and parallel to a second tension rod section, wherein the firsttension rod and the second tension rod have same height. The angledtrampoline panel system of claim 1, wherein the elastic cord has a cordend that engages into a cord molding, wherein the cord molding has anopening revealing a socket for receiving the cord end, wherein the cordend socket is a plastic barrel shaped member. The angled trampolinepanel system of claim 1, wherein the elastic cord has a cord end thatengages into a cord molding, wherein the cord molding has a hookconfigured to fit through the loop opening. The angled trampoline panelsystem of claim 1, wherein the pulldown panel net further comprises: aseries of tab loops attached to the trampoline bed between the middlebed and the right angled bed, wherein the series of tab loops arelinearly arranged, wherein the series of tab loops receives the tensionrod, wherein the tension rod and series of tab loops form a series ofupper loops, wherein the right lower frame horizontal member furtherincludes a series of lower loops, wherein the series of lower loops hasa series of lower loop openings, wherein the series of lower loops isoffset to the series of upper loops, wherein the elastic cord is mountedin a zigzag alternating pattern between the series of lower loops andthe series of upper loops. The angled trampoline panel system of claim6, wherein the tension rod is formed sections that overlie each other,wherein the tension rod includes a first tension rod section that isoverlaid with a second tension rod section. The angled trampoline panelsystem of claim 6, wherein the tension rod is formed sections thatoverlie each other, wherein the tension rod includes a first tension rodsection that is laid adjacent to and parallel to a second tension rodsection, wherein the first tension rod and the second tension rod havesame height. The angled trampoline panel system of claim 6, wherein theelastic cord has a cord end that engages into a cord molding, whereinthe cord molding has an opening revealing a socket for receiving thecord end, wherein the cord end socket is a plastic barrel shaped member.The angled trampoline panel system of claim 6, wherein the elastic cordhas a cord end that engages into a cord molding, wherein the cordmolding has a hook configured to fit through the loop opening.